Starting Anew
by Fiery Crusader
Summary: A personal take on the time gap between "Red Throne" and "Betty" One-shot.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own Adventure Time or "The Reason" by Hoobastank.

* * *

It was just an average day in the land of Ooo. The birds were chirping, the sun was bright, and a gentle breeze blew throughout the Grasslands. But somewhere in the region was a large tree fort set a few miles away from the Candy Kingdom. A young blonde adventurer resided in there along with his magical canine brother. Inside the house, Finn the human was lying down on the couch at the living room. He was watching television a while ago, but then he decided to switch it off when he lost interest. Apparently his mind was preoccupied from a recent development that he just stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when Jake walked in from the kitchen, "Hey, Finn! What's going on? The tv's off."

"I'm fine, Jake," he said dismissively. "Just keep doing your thing. Don't let me get in your way."

Jake thought for a few moments and then showed a solemn expression, "This is about Flame Princess again, isn't it?"

Finn sighed, "Is it really that obvious?"

"...Do you want to talk about it," Jake asked cautiously.

The blonde hero took a deep breath before answering, "Sure, why not? It happened a couple days ago when you were away with Lady and the pups for the weekend."

Jake nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"So anyway, I was sitting down here in the living room, minding my own business until they showed up."

"Who's they," Jake asked with a puzzled expression.

"Flame Princess and Cinnamon Bun," he replied with a hint of disdain from the last name. "They crashed through the wall over there with Jake 2 to ask for my help. It turned out that her father escaped from the lantern and took over the Fire Kingdom with the help of an accomplice."

Finn paused to maintain his composure briefly, "I messed up... I let her down. I was too keen on impressing her to get her back that I acted like a liability during the whole mission."

"So, the mission..." Jake said hesitantly.

"The mission was still successful, bro," Finn cut in. "CB was actually the one who saved the day. I on the other hand, barged in through the throne room and got FP and myself captured." His eyes became watery, "I was so stupid, Jake. All I cared about was winning her back, but instead I pushed her further away."

"You can't be certain of that," Jake countered. "Did she say anything afterward?"

"All I know is that CB confessed his love for her and walked her back towards the throne holding hands. I'm pretty sure that's all the proof I need."

The canine rubbed the back of his neck, "Man, I'm sorry to hear that. I should apologize for offering you bad advice which led to your breakup. You-"

"It was just advice, Jake. In the end, it was ultimately my choice to either follow or go against it. There's nothing I could do for the moment." Moments later, he got up from the couch, "I'm just going reflect in my room privately for the time being. Just give me a call only if something's up, ok?"

Jake nodded, "Alright, brother. See you later..."

Time had passed as Jake continued to make preparations for making everything burritos. The ingredients were assembled on the counter and the only thing that that needed to be done was to wrap them together in a toasted tortilla and heat them up. Before Jake could continue, however he received a call from Marceline, the Vampire Queen.

"Hey, how's everything going? Good, good... Sure we'll come over. Ok, see you then. Bye." Jake hung up the phone and then walked over to the bedroom. "Hey, Finn. Marceline called. She was wondering if we could come over to her place for a jam session. You down?"

"(sigh) Ok. Beats lying down here all depressed anyway," he replied.

The two traveled to their destination in silence. When they finally reached the house, Marceline gave them a warm welcome. "Hey guys, glad you could make it. I haven't seen you two in a long while. Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know here and there," Jake said offhandedly. Meanwhile, Finn expressed a fake smile as he nodded.

The vampire did not take notice and then held up her ax bass, "Heh, I guess we all have. Anyway, go on ahead and choose your instruments."

Jake sat down next to a set of drums, while Finn picked up a rim with jingles with a flat drum surface on one side.

Marceline nodded as she made last minute adjustments to the speakers, "Alright, are you two ready?"

"Actually, could I make a special request," Finn asked.

This caught the other two off guard. "Uhhh, sure. Okay," the vampire said. The young human produced a small piece of paper and handed it to her. She read it thoroughly with her eyes narrowing and then finally nodded. "So, you want to be the lead singer for this one?"

"Yes, Marceline," Finn nodded.

She looked over to Jake with uncertainty only to find that he shrugged his shoulders. Then, she prepped her bass and said, "A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three, four."

"Wait," Finn said.

"What?"

"Why are you holding your bass high like that?"

She replied with an uncertain mumble and then said, "I don't know, I get better finger action this way."

"But you look like a nerd. Move it back down. It's better."

"Move the bass down," Jake added.

"A-move the bass a-down," Finn motioned for emphasis.

"Be reasonable," Jake said.

Finally Marceline sighed in frustration, "Look, do you want me to take your special request or not?"

Finn raised his hands, "Ok, Ok. Sorry about that."

She shook her head and took a few breaths to calm herself and readied her ax bass again, "Ok, here we go. And a-one, a-two, a-one, two, three, four."

* * *

_I'm not a perfect person_

_There's many things I wish I didn't do_

_But I continue learning_

_I never meant to do those things to you_

_And so I have to say before I go_

_That I just want you to know_

_I've found a reason for me_

_To change who I used to be_

_A reason to start over new_

_and the reason is you_

_I'm sorry that I hurt you_

_It's something I must live with everyday_

_And all the pain I put you through_

_I wish that I could take it all away_

_And be the one who catches all your tears_

_Thats why I need you to hear_

_I've found a reason for me_

_To change who I used to be_

_A reason to start over new_

_and the reason is You_

_and the reason is You [x3]_

_I'm not a perfect person_

_I never meant to do those things to you_

_And so I have to say before I go_

_That I just want you to know_

_I've found a reason for me_

_To change who I used to be_

_A reason to start over new_

_and the reason is you_

_I've found a reason to show_

_A side of me you didn't know_

_A reason for all that I do_

_And the reason is you_

* * *

After Finn finished singing the song, he looked down in sorrow. Marceline suspected that there was something peculiar about her fellow adventurer during the session, but from that moment she knew. She knew the song was intended for a certain fire elemental who still had the key to the hero's heart.

"Finn... are you okay," she asked sincerely.

Two sets of eyes were pivoted towards his direction expecting an answer, "No, I'm not Marceline. I've humiliated myself when Flame Princess tried to ask me for help, and I blew it!" He started to burst into tears.

The vampire quickly rushed to his side and embraced him, "Shhh, it's okay. Just let it out." The two hugged it out for a couple minutes while Jake looked away feeling awkward. "Love can be very complicated at times, Finn. Trust me, I've gone through some similar cases for the past thousand years."

He sniffled a little, "Thanks, you have my appreciation. FP will always have a place in my heart. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday I will set things straight with her for better or worse. I don't want to feel miserable forever that's for sure."

"Are you going to be ok, man," Jake asked.

Finn nodded as he wiped his eyes, "Y-yeah, I'll be fine. I feel a little better actually from expressing my feelings from singing. I didn't think it would work to come and think of it, heheh."

Marceline chuckled back, "I thought the same thing too before I sang the song about my dad eating my fries. But to my surprise, it actually works!"

Suddenly, her phone went off and she answered it, "Yes?"

"Marcy, it's me, Simon. I'm back, but my body might donk out soon, so get to the Ice Kingdom fast and help me with this time portal so I can find Betty and say I'm sorry before I croakboat! I know that's a lot to process, but hurry, and bring Hambo. Hambo is the key."

She collapsed face down after hearing her long-lost friend again.

"Okay, Marcy? You got that? Marcy?" Moments later, the call ended.

"Hey are you alright, you passed out," Finn said as he helped her up.

She nodded, "A long, long time ago, Simon was my only friend. He was there when I needed help." The vampire replaced her ax bass and then grabbed her plush toy, Hambo. "All he ever wanted was to find Betty, and now I can help him."

The three heroes were getting ready to leave the house. After making final preparations, the group paused at the front door. Marceline looked over to Finn, "You sure you're up to this?"

"Yes, I am. My personal struggles are my own, but the least I can do is help you in this task. Now, come on. We've got a friend to save!"


End file.
